The Hindu : City hit by traffic snarls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 21, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

City hit by traffic snarls

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM MARCH 20. Traffic was held up for several hours in the city today with hundreds of LDF and tribal activists appropriating the carriage space in front of the Government Secretariat.

The police were forced to divert traffic from Palayam and Spencer junction after LDF agitators and tribal activists spilled over to the road in front of the Secretariat pavement where LDF MLAs are on an indefinite fast demanding a judicial probe into the Muthanga incident.

The seemingly unending spate of agitations in front of the Government Secretariat has made life difficult for the common man. Every time a procession enters the arterial M.G. Road, the city grounds to a halt. Traffic is held up for hours on end.

The police estimate is that there is a procession in the city almost every working day. More than the numbers involved, it is the unruly and haphazard manner in which the processions or protests are conducted which causes hardship to the public. Even small groups of protestors move along the M.G. Road in a manner that allows little space for vehicles or pedestrians to move along the carriage way.

A small protest along the M.G. Road can impede smooth movement of vehicular traffic from Ulloor and Kesavadasapuram onwards. There are several schools and educational institutions along this stretch. The season of strikes could not have come at a worse time for students.

The Circle Inspector (Traffic), Sanal Kumar, said the police was forced to divert the traffic in order to avoid any conflict with motorists and agitators. The traffic holds ups and snarls which commence at around 11 a.m. ease only by 2-30 p.m.

A study conducted in 2002 by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) here had pointed out that the city suffered an annual loss of Rs 15.06 crores due to processions and protest marches. The loss was estimated in terms of productivity (Rs 3.38 crores) and additional expenditure for motorists who get caught in ensuing traffic jams (Rs 11.68 crores).

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